WASHINGTON — Consumer borrowing in the U.S. climbed less than projected in March as Americans reduced credit-card purchases for the first time this year.

The $7.97 billion increase followed an $18.6 billion advance the previous month that was the biggest since May 2012, Federal Reserve figures showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a $15.6 billion rise. Revolving credit, which includes credit-card spending, fell, while non-revolving borrowing rose.

The tempering of credit-card use coincides with a slowdown in March consumer spending amid higher payroll taxes and limited income growth. At the same time, rising stock prices and home values are enabling households to repair finances, putting them in a position to take advantage of low borrowing costs for purchases such as new cars.

“The month-to-month volatility doesn’t change the picture,” Sam Coffin, an economist for UBS Securities in Stamford, Conn., said before Tuesday’s report. “Household balance sheets have been improving quite a bit. Gains in home and equity prices are helping.”

Estimates of the 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ranged from gains of $11 billion to $20 billion.

A person earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend this year. A household with two highly paid workers will have up to $4,500 less.

Revolving debt, which includes credit cards, decreased by $1.71 billion after a $452.7 million increase.

Non-revolving debt, such as that for college tuition and the purchase of vehicles and mobile homes, increased $9.68 billion, Tuesday’s report showed.

Lending to consumers by the federal government, which is mainly for student loans, rose by $3.9 billion before adjusting for seasonal variations.

Demand for automobiles remains an area of strength for the economy. Cars and light trucks sold at an average 15.3 million annualized rate in the first quarter, the most since the same period in 2008, according to data from Ward’s Automotive Group. In April, vehicle sales cooled to a 14.9 million pace.

“We’re seeing this continued strength of full-size pickup sales, particularly supported by the housing recovery and also the boom in the energy sector,” Jenny Lin, Dearborn, Mich.- based Ford’s senior U.S. economist, said on a May 1 conference call. “The housing sector recovery is in full-swing.”

The Fed’s consumer credit report doesn’t track debt secured by real estate, such as home-equity lines of credit and home mortgages.

A customer dining at Washington’s Oceanaire restaurant noticed an unusual line at the bottom of his receipt: “Due to the rising costs of doing business in this location, including costs associated with higher minimum wage rates, a 3% surcharge has been added to your total bill.”